#petrel replies

[greypetrel]

I was just reminded what your more simpler (chibi?) versions of characters look like....

The art

And what it reminds me of

(I mean this in the best way possible by the way-)

Ok, I'm WHEEZING.

it's a HUGE compliment and thank you, I'm glad the association is to such a well-beloved comic with an iconic style!

Particularly because...

... I've never read Tintin, nor watched the cartoons. x°D

I know of his existance, I saw him around when I was a child, maybe watched an episode of the cartoon? I have no idea whether it was very subconsciously influential to my style, LOL. Could be, it was something I definitely saw... But never followed!

I'm really glad of the comparison, tho, thank you for sending everything to me!

I think I started drawing bead eyes like that to develop a more illustrative style, more fit for children. I thiiiink the main inspiration was ND Stevenson, I read Nimona and my brain re-wired. And then Taryn Knight. Here's some (old, GH) samples I made... Choosing Lord of the Rings to experiment. I still like that Gimli's face quite a lot, LOL.

[seriousbrat]

Do you think Lily’s patronus makes sense as a Doe? Because when I think of Does I think docile, timid, fragile, sensitive and fearful and Lily doesn’t quite match that description. I know patronuses aren’t always 1:1 with the wizard’s personality but usually there is some overlap (Sirius is loyal and protective, James encapsulates the positive and negative qualities of a stag with his leadership and strength but also the toxic masculinity, Remus is needing of a pack and is also clever etc.). So do you think there is some part of a doe or what they symbolizes that fits with Lily’s character OR do you think her patronus changed to match James who’s already was a stag?

If you’ll allow me to ramble about my own theories here for a minute than I would like to say that I actually believe that her’s changed. I think this mostly due to JKR saying this in a interview awhile ago when someone asked if it was a coincidence that jily had matching patronuses: “No, the Patronus often mutates to take the image of the love of one's life (because they so often become the 'happy thought' that generates a Patronus).” Her statement implies (or more outright states) that there was a change of patronus for atleast one of jily, And since James was already a stag animagus at 15 we can assume that his patronus was always one (further evidence is that McGonagall’s patronus and animagus is both a cat).

I personally believe that patronuses are a manifestation of hope, the desire to go on, and the idea of what to continue living/fighting for (“The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive” from Lupin, and then Luna says this while helping Harry conjure one in DH “"We're all still here," she whispered, "we're still fighting. Come on, now...”). So I think given this it makes a lot of sense for Lily’s patronus to change to reflect an image of James. She is a targeted individual in her new small society that is at war and there isn’t much hope to be found anywhere, but she finds hope in James because he represents the life she wants to have that’s not connected to the war, a normal happy family. Her “happy thought” in the midst of death and destruction is family and love (also meaning this is what she wants to preserve and fight for, and it is ultimately what she dies for.)

It’s also interesting that her patrounus takes a female form, we know it’s possible for characters to have a patrounus that differ from their gender but that isn’t the case here. And while I know the doylist answer has to do with JKR’s views on femininity and gender in general, from the watsonisan perspective this could mean a couple things:

She is a doe because her hope lies within her being James’ wife and partner (like the family thing I said above. It’s not about the title or status of being a “wife” but about the normalcy, safety, intimacy and love that it represents)

She is a doe because her identity is separate enough from James where she wouldn’t mirror him but instead be her own version (possible, but less symbolically satisfying to me lol).

Or is it just something else entirely?

anyways sorry I didn’t mean for that to be that long lolll, but If you vibe with my “Lily patronus changed theory” what do you think it was before?

Also I consider you a lily expert so if you think this theory is trash or missing something lmk lmao

omg wait this is very interesting and absolutely NOT trash!! to be honest with you, I've thought about this a little myself before and never come up with a wholly conclusive answer. But personally I think it's very possible that Lily's patronus might have changed. I skirted around this issue in my fic by not having Lily produce a corporeal patronus until she was already with James lol.

Re: the doe, obviously in real life many prey animals are skittish, shy, and fearful because that's how they survive. This includes male deer too, because they will also startle easily. But I think that Lily could definitely be said to have qualities that are doe-like in a more symbolic way: grace, beauty, a gentle and caring nature, devotion to her young. I think it is an animal that fits Lily in many ways, and I think the symbolic/mythological meaning associated the animal is maybe more relevant than how the real animal behaves in the wild.

But even though I think Lily has doe-like qualities I don't think this precludes her patronus having become a doe because of James. It's more about the person she grew into, alongside James, than her identity totally changing because of her relationship. I think it still represents her, she IS the doe but she just grew into that person over time.

If Lily's patronus did change to mirror James, I REALLY like your idea that it reflects what she most cares about, that James (and what he represents to her) becomes her happiest thought and what she's fighting to survive for. Not just James, but later also Harry- whose Patronus is also eventually a stag.

As for what it might have been before (or had she never met James) it's a difficult question! I recently assigned patronuses to all the order members for ease of writing and lowkey I feel like I've run out of animals lol. I could see her as some kind of bird perhaps (I always feel like I default to giving people birds though lol) maybe a dove... or a seabird of some sort. I've always really liked the storm petrel, which is thought of as intrepid and brave and is known to fly through terrible weather, it cares for its single young, and has apparently been used as a revolutionary symbol. There's something really beautiful and dignified about them to me, they're lonely but resistant which could fit Lily's position as a Muggleborn amidst the war, if she hadn't fallen for James and joined the Order with him. So that's my first thought-- I'd be open to ideas though!

[patchdotexe]

tell me about this mysterious second bnuuy

time for Mysterious Second Bnuuy reveal

her name is Petrel! short for Petrichor. she's.. not fully an immoral scientist but she's like. working on the immortality experiment means she gets A Fuckton Of Money to fund whatever else she wants to do, so as long as she doesnt actually Interact with anybody she's ruining the lives of and have to deal with the consequences of her actions then shes able to not care

(and then she keeps ending up in situations where she does have to interact with anybody she's ruining the lives of and have to deal with the consequences of her actions. everyone involved hates it)

[pokepollsters]

Best Pokémon Villains Tournament- Opening Submissions!

As you've all voted on, our next tournament will feature the villains of the franchise going head to head in a battle to be the best- or perhaps the worst? Though, some of these people turn out to not be too bad after all!

For the first time when doing one of these tournaments though, there's not a clear cut way to decide who counts as a vilain and who doesn't! So I'm going to be trying out something new for this tournament- submissions.

The way this tournament will work is that we'll have two brackets, the first being a bracket of the individual characters, and the second being a bracket of the evil teams and other antagonistic organisations themselves. Both brackets will be open to your suggestions on who should participate- and yes, for once we will be allowing participants from games other than the mainline series! This is something I've wanted to try for a while now, and this feels like the perfect opportunity.

With that in mind though, there will be some contestants who get automatic qualification, and there will be rules for who can be submitted.

For the individuals bracket, the automatic qualifications include any named member of the villainous groups from the main series that the player battles at least once (following the below rules). Otherwise, anyone else must be submitted following these rules:

They must be a human antagonist in a Pokémon game

They must battle the player (in whatever form this may take consindering their game of origin) at least once OR play a distinct, individual part in the story (for example, most of Team Plasma's 7 Sages would not make the cut, but Team Galactic's Charon would)

They cannot have featured in the Best Rivals Tournament- this is to give other characters a chance to shine, and because though some are more antagonistic than others, the rival is a distinct role separate to a villainous one

For the organisations bracket, all main series teams will automatically qualify. Other submissions simply must:

Be a named organisation that works against the player

I have final say on any submission if I feel it doesn't meet the requirements, I would like to have a broad selection of characters, though I also ideally want no more than 64 characters as a maximum- or 128 if I severely underestimate how many submissions there will be.

You have until the end of this week to submit characters and teams, either in the replies of this post, as an ask, or as a submission. I hope this is all clear, and I hope you're excited to see this tournament get started!

Automatic qualifiers under the cut:

Individuals:

Giovanni

Archer

Ariana

Petrel

Proton

Archie

Matt

Shelly

Maxie

Courtney

Tabitha

Cyrus

Saturn

Mars

Jupiter

Charon

Ghetsis

Colress

Zinzolin

Lysandre

Aliana

Mable

Celosia

Bryony

Xerosic

Guzma

Plumeria

Lusamine

Faba

Rose

Oleana

Giacomo

Mela

Atticus

Ortega

Eri

Cassiopeia

Organisations:

Team Rocket

Team Aqua

Team Magma

Team Galactic

Team Plasma

Team Flare

Team Skull

Aether Foundation

Team Rainbow Rocket

Team Yell

Macro Cosmos

Team Star

Let me know if I'm missing anyone or any group that you think should already be here!

[landwriter]

oooh welcome back!! <3<3

tell us something about "Skin - 05.14.23", please? 👀

Teejay!! You know this one already, so here's a little scene. Dream is deeeefinitely a legitimate lighthouse keeper.

The man is pale, with pale eyes - the first blue, Hob realizes, that he’s seen in days. But his hair is dark as wet rock, as night-calm sea, as starless sky.

“Who’re you?”

The man swallows, and Hob’s eyes drop to the bobbing of his throat, like a blind buoy. He follows the line of it back up past hairless jaw to lips, pink and fulsome as a woman’s, that open and close soundlessly. Then he speaks at last, in a low and rough voice. “Keeper.”

“Did you wash onto the beach?”

The man blinks at him.

“That was a joke.” Hob gestures at the empty kitchen. “Where are the others? Did you just come ashore?”

He says nothing, and Hob speaks again to fill the silence. “From the tender. The crew. Hell, one other man. We’re meant to have three keepers.” Baleful silence. Hob’s impatience turns to frustration. “Do they not know that Caerwyn abandoned his post? He took the bloody boat. On Sunday. I’ve sent half a dozen carriers with the news.”

“Sea eagles.”

“What.”

“Or petrels. Could have taken them.”

Sitting down heavily, Hob scrubs his hands over his face. He can feel the picture forming. “Right. So they didn’t know I’ve been up here alone, doing the work for three men. You’re only here because the first occasional didn’t show when we were sent up. Caerwyn never got to the mainland.” He pauses. “God rest his soul,” he adds, reflexively.

“God rest his soul,” echoes the new keeper.

Hob stands again to leave. He hasn’t even taken off his oilskin. “What a mess this is. Good luck you’re here. I’ll tell the captain. He can send a telegram on Lewis.”

“No. Hesperus has left.”

He stiffens and turns. “Already?”

The keeper shrugs minutely. “It was not my decision to make.”

“I was repairing the shed. I was out for no more than an hour.” Hob shakes his head. He’s no servant of the protocol himself, but Captain Muirhead had seemed to be. Took a pride in his duty. “I can’t believe I didn’t hear the whistle. You didn’t think it was strange, when nobody greeted you at the landing? The captain didn’t care to lay eyes on us?”

“The weather was turning.”

“Bugger the weather!” Hob strides over to the window and peers out for sight of the departing Hesperus, but a thick fog had indeed swallowed the leeward side of the island. He rolls his shoulders and groans. “Bugger this rock. You can take the day. Wake me tonight.”

He goes upstairs without waiting for a reply.

[albatross-lancer]

Greetings to our friends at Erdaf! It is great to see other Maktebas have already made a presence here. Seeing as there's usually very few chances for us to keep in touch, I thought it'd be nice to check in and say hello. How are you all doing, and how have things been running this blog?

Eagerly awaiting your reply, but please do take your time,

Young Petrel Roland Levi, callsign "Bright Star", of Makteba Karda (semi-loyal-wing)

Greetings to you of Makteba Karda in turn.

Alas that I cannot share more happy news, a ghost from one of my petrel's past has returned to haunt us, it seems. I took his measure when last we fought. He does not seem the type to issue idle threats, so another confrontation with him and his pirate lackeys seems likely. I am confident we can foil whatever he plans and defeat him once again, for there is perhaps nowhere safer than Makteba Erdaf for those in need of refuge. Still, this looming presence is a weight upon all of us, Petrel Kuhnei most especially, and he has asked that others maintain this blog for some time. I think he would like to speak with you, once this is all over.

Oh, and something seems to be brewing on the headquarters of the CORSAIR Mercenary Company.

Our thanks for reaching out, it is good to hear from our distant kinfolk.

-Loyal Wing Catrin Cavazos

[thebladeblaster]

Welcome to Trainer School, Iruma-kun!

Alternate story name: Pokémon: Greed Gold Version (I don’t know which way sounds best)

This is a test to see if there is interest in this au as a fic. This is subject to change.

Concept Chapter

The smell of seawater was thick in the air. A monotonous gray colored the room which was filled to the brim with shelves, boxes, and fishing gear.

A small boy struggled to stay upright as the ground beneath him continuously moved. He had shoulder length blue hair and blue eyes. The boy wore a simple black long sleeved jumpsuit with a red R on the chest. He had white gloves and boots. He had a black hat on as well.

The boy hastily righted himself as the ground rocked. A box started to slide from the shelf full of red and white colored orbs. There are some other people with the same uniform on the boat. It was not just them there was a variety of strange creatures that helped as well.

“Come on, you grunts! You better not drop those boxes or I’ll dock your pay!”, a man who walked like a gangster barked.

He had slicked back purple hair with a beard and gray eyes. Under his eye was a beauty mark. He wore a similar uniform but with no hat and yellow lines across the chest part of his uniform.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“D-Don’t slip, darn it!”

The boy panicked as the boat was filled with harsh bickering. His arms trembled as he tried to keep the box from slipping. Compared to the other people there the boy was tiny.

This boy’s name is Suzuki Iruma. He is 14 years old though he doesn’t quite look like it. His height was very below average.

Many of the others were busy yelling at each other or trying to keep their own boxes from falling. Iruma was slowly sliding back as he sweated.

“I can’t get by if—“, Iruma thought before he slid back further.

Iruma yelped as the box slid. It was bigger than he was. The boy fell on his back as the box dropped.

“Crap! Crap! I’m gonna die!”, Iruma thought.

The couldn’t move out of the way of with the shaking ground making it difficult to regain his bearings.

Iruma closed his eyes preparing to meet his fate.

He heard a thud but there was no pain. When he opened his eyes he saw a big brown rat not much smaller than him catch the box with its teeth. Its fangs cut straight through it like butter.

His attention turned to the purple haired man standing over him. He looked rather annoyed with Iruma. Iruma paled at this.

“Geez, kid. Yer lucky that it would have been more of a hassle to deal with your corpse. Get yer butt up.”, the purple hair man barked.

“I-I’m sorry, Petrel…Sir…T-Thank you.”, Iruma replied as quietly as a mouse.

“And stop that stuttering! It’s gross!”, Petrel barked as Iruma flinched.

“S-Sorry—I-I’m still stuttering I mean uh…”, Iruma stammered as he hastily tried to get to his feet.

Iruma stumbled as he did so, making the man sigh. He already started walking away without a care.

“That will be a pay cut of a quarter.”, Petrel said.

Iruma gaped in horror.

“I’m so dead…I have to figure something out.”, Iruma thought.

“Don’t just stand there and pick up those poke balls before it’s half.”, Petrel added.

This made Iruma scramble to pick up all of the poke balls rolling around the rocking ship.

“What’s a kid like him even doing here? He should have quit and run home to mama by now.”

“Think he’s an orphan actually. Why else would a kid be here?”

“Watch those poke balls!”

“Darn it…get your stuff together, kid!”

Iruma is scrambling to find all of the poke balls that slipped out as many others try to avoid them. Sweat laced his brow as he pushed himself to get them all.

“I’m sorry…”, Iruma apologized meekly.

Soon, he got them all and not long after the boat stopped. He took a relieved breath as all of the poke balls were returned to the crate.

“Stupid brat…”

“Finally we’re done here.”

“Go ahead and load up my crate, kid.”

“Okay…”, Iruma replied.

He quickly headed off to do as he was asked. Iruma sweated as he tried to pick up the crate to load it onto a truck. It was just two crates. Easy enough, right?

Somehow he found himself loading over ten…

Without thinking he nodded along every time one of them asked him to load up a crate. Before he knew it half an hour had passed. He was drenched in sweat as he breathed heavily through his nose. He was very tempted to exhale through his mouth but kept in the urge.

Iruma slowly walked across the pier exhausted.

“Why…do I smell smoke?”, Iruma thought.

All around the pier grunts were strewn around, knocked out or hiding behind crates. The boy jumped, snapping out of his tired stupor upon seeing this.

“What…?”, Iruma muttered.

He looked around hastily on a swivel as he reached for one of the two poke balls on his waist. The smoke was growing rapidly. Many grunts had passed out from the smoke.

Iruma pinched his nose to avoid inhaling the smoke. It was spreading so rapidly that he already felt dizzy.

Suddenly a light shined through the smoke cloud. It was red hot and on a silhouette of a bipedal badger-like creature. Its red eyes burned like an inferno with a collar of flames around its neck like a crown.

Iruma exhaled unconsciously in his fear. Something about the Pokémon felt familiar. He grasped his poke ball tightly. He was focused and posed to evade the creature as it matched forward. His body already started to move to evade.

“Wait—“, he thought.

Dread suddenly filled him. His body suddenly froze warning him of a life or death situation. He only had a second t—

He let out a muffled scream when pain suddenly soared through his arm.

“T-There’s a second one?!”, Iruma thought in extreme pain.

The force of the strike nearly broke his arm as his poke ball fell from his hand. He could hardly get his arm to respond. The attack was focused on a specific point of his arm. As soon as it was struck it became difficult to use.

When Iruma’s gaze briefly shifted to the source he saw a massive bipedal blue Heracles beetle. Its hand was in a chop position. His heart rate accelerated as desperately tried to reach out for the poke ball.

The creature moved again. His other hand had the second poke ball. He pressed the button without hesitation and light shot out of it revealing a creature bigger than the other two. It was a bipedal bulky brown dinosaur-like creature. It had a pouch like a kangaroo, two stubby horns, and red eyes. Those eyes were quickly filled with rage.

“Kangaskhan…”, the dinosaur said angrily.

Iruma was grabbed by the collar by the dinosaur, bringing him away from the beetle as it prepared to strike again.

“Use Fake Out!”, Iruma ordered.

Kangaskhan slapped the beetle with its long bulky arms making it flinch and leaving it stunned for a few moments. He was stuffed into the creature’s pouch. The boy was small enough that he fit in with his shoulders and above being visible.

“It’s not a good match up.”, Iruma thought as the beetle was regaining its bearings.

Kangaskhan kicked the beetle harshly and started running.

“Watch out there’s two! The other one is a fire type!”, Iruma warned.

“There has to be a way for me to reach that ball…If I can then…”, Iruma thought.

His thoughts were becoming more hazy as he inhaled more smoke. After being struck his breathing had become more heavy. The other grunts were all passed out by now. The beetle flew up to attack again and Kangaskhan was covering its nose.

Iruma took this opportunity to roll out of the pouch. The fire type prepared to shoot towards him like a rocket.

His eyes widened.

“Throw me up!”, Iruma ordered.

Kangaskhan quickly responded looking very concerned. The beetle’s attention had turned to him as he was thrown upwards. This made the rocketing creature miss. Now, he was clung onto the bug creature.

“Can you please get Libera?”, Iruma asked as he quickly pointed down.

He struggled to hold on as the bug tried to shake him off. Kangaskhan spotted the poke ball when he pointed to it and ran to pick it up.

A pillar of fire was shot at Kangaskhan. It couldn’t dodge in time and was hit by the surprise attack. Iruma gaped and sweated intensely in fear. He was suddenly thrown onto the ground by the beetle. He winced as he harshly hit the ground.

His vision became blurry as he saw someone walking forward. They had a black and gold hat and a red jacket.

Iruma blacked out!

When he came to his mind felt hazy. He could feel something of notable weight around his arms.

“Hello…hello…”

His vision slowly returned and his head was ringing. In front of him the first thing he could make out were the bars of a cell. There was a figure on the other side of him.

“Oh no…I’m in jail…I’m completely screwed. It will be more difficult to get work.”, Iruma thought.

The figure was of an extremely tall elderly man. He wore an elegant purple coat and fedora. The man seemed to be bald and wore small circular glasses. His eyes were obscured by the light reflected in his glasses. He had a white mustache that resembled the Monopoly man’s.

Iruma was sweating buckets. When he checked his belt he saw that his poke balls were gone.

“Mom…”, Iruma thought as his heart was filled with worry.

“It looks like you’re finally awake. Can you hear me, young man?”, the stranger said.

“Yes…Are you…with the police?”, Iruma asked.

This made the old man chuckle which caught his attention.

“Heavens no. My name is Sullivan. I’ve come here to pick you up.”, the old man explained.

…

…

…

“Huh…?”, Iruma questioned with an incredulous expression as he cocked his head.

“Allow me to explain. You see your parents have sold you.”, Sullivan started.

Iruma’s expression became more incredulous.

“Excuse me—what?!”, Iruma questioned.

“They wanted enough money to live comfortably without working a day in their lives in exchange for you.”, Sullivan elaborated.

“My parents would never—Oh who am I kidding of course they would…”, Iruma thought.

You see, Iruma is not an orphan. He just has parents that are so overwhelmingly horrible that he would be better off as one.

His mind drifted to the various life threatening situations that he was put into thanks to his parents. This included being used as bait for fish, being chased by an Ursaring, and even getting shot at by police whose police dogs shot fire. In the first two he was much younger.

“I knew that they were willing to put me through hell just so they wouldn’t have to work but…THIS IS WAY TOO FAR!”, Iruma thought.

Yes, that’s right. Iruma has had to take up various odd jobs just to sustain himself and his parents since he was a little boy. You were indeed not tripping; he was a toddler in that flashback where he was being used as bait.

“And so, Iruma! Will you become my grandson?”, Sullivan asked.

The world was spinning again for Iruma for a different reason. It was difficult for his mind to comprehend the ridiculous situation he’s been placed in.

“Huh?”, was all that slipped out.

“Surely this can’t be real. I mean they’re horrible but not this horrible…right?…right?…right?! This is a joke, right?!”, Iruma thought.

“My friends always boast about their grandsons, it makes me jealous! I will buy you anything you want! I will take care of you!! So, do you agree?”, Sullivan begged with comedic tears.

“Hey then do I…Do I have the right to refuse?”, Iruma questioned.

“If you don’t want to be my grandson, no harm is done. I respect your decision.”, Sullivan replied.

Iruma gripped his pants nervously.

“What should I do…? Since the day I was born I have never said no. I never learned how to say no! Can I refuse or not…?”, Iruma thought.

“I want to have a grandson! I very much want a grandson! Please be my grandson! That’s the reason I chose you! Please fulfill a dying man’s wish! Please help me! I beg you!”, Sullivan continued begging.

Iruma felt physically struck at the words “I beg you”, “please help me”, and “I’ll leave it up to you”. Like a switch flicked on in his mind any desire to refuse his request instantly vanished.

Before he even realized what he was doing he out of the cell and he signed the adoption papers. This left Iruma sulking at his own agreeableness.

“In the end I can’t refuse his offer. I had the chance to refuse for the first time in my life but…I can’t break my habits…”, Iruma thought.

His mind flashed back to seeing a grunt on a golden bridge.

“Will you join us? It’s up to you.”

Without realizing it the grunt said one of those phrases that made Iruma instantly roll over.

“First I became a criminal because I couldn’t refuse anyone now I’m this old guy’s grandson!”, Iruma mentally panicked.

“I have some new clothes for you, Iruma.”, Sullivan informed revealing a strange looking blue uniform with a poncho.

Iruma went into the bathroom to change out of his old uniform to put on the new clothes. The blue uniform and poncho were lined with white. He had a red broach with a design that looked like a slit eye.

“So, we shouldn’t delay any longer. These belong to you.”, Sullivan said as he passed Iruma back two poke balls.

“M-mo—I mean Momo and Libera. How did you get them from the police?”, Iruma questioned.

“I have my ways. Now, let’s go.”, Sullivan replied.

The camera in the police station looped indefinitely rather than recording anything going on.

“What is this exactly?”, Iruma questioned as he pointed at the uniform he was wearing.

“Your school uniform! You will attend a Trainer School!”, Sullivan explained with excitement.

“School…?”, Iruma questioned, stunned.

When they exited the building an extravagant limousine awaited them making Iruma gape. He looked around thinking there must be some mistake.

“Come on, Iruma.”, Sullivan beckoned him to the limousine.

Everyone was staring at the scene which filled him with anxiety. He hastily followed Sullivan into the vehicle. When he sat down it felt like he was sitting on a cloud. It felt like he could easily sink into comfort. He wanted to.

“So comfy…”, Iruma thought.

He flinched when his arm touched the seat which brought him back to reality. It was a reminder of what happened.

“Oh, did you get roughed up?”, Sullivan questioned.

“Yeah…it happened when I got apprehended.”, Iruma replied.

Sullivan casually brought out a max potion which stunned him. Iruma cautiously rolled down his sleeve allowing Sullivan to spray the wound. It healed in seconds after being exposed to the spray.

“He can just use those as he likes? Or did he just drop a fortune to heal me? I hope it didn’t burden him too much.”, Iruma thought.

“Speaking of…why me exactly? I mean…I ended up in jail. That doesn’t exactly sound like good grandson material.”, Iruma replied.

Sullivan sweat dropped as he seemed to remember something.

“Oh crap…I shouldn’t have said anything. He’s going to throw me out now.”, Iruma thought.

“I forgot to mention something important. Ah, it’s bound to happen at my age.”, Sullivan said.

“Lord Sullivan, that’s something too crucial to forget.”, their driver said in a monotone tone.

Their driver wore a white dress shirt with a red vest. They had vibrant red hair and eyes. Their expression was constantly neutral.

“What is it?”, Iruma questioned.

“You see I’m the boss of Team Babyls. It’s quite a bit older than those young teams. You are not only my grandson, you are also now my successor.”, Sullivan explained.

Suddenly it all sank in. That rather shady exchange to acquire him…The unbelievable wealth…The power to just take an inmate out of jail. He’s a crime boss. He’s become the grandson of a CRIME BOSS.

“WHAT?!”, Iruma gasped.

To be continued…

[kvalenagle]

Okay, I've been summoned to Tumblr by cute Satra and Lei fan art, so I should probably introduce myself and my books. Hello! I'm Vale, and I write creature fantasy as K. Vale Nagle. If you like interesting gryphons, you're in the right place: aquatic diving petrel/fishing cat gryphons, poisonous hooded pitohui/tiger gryphons, pretty gyrfalcon/snow leopard gryphons, intimidating Haast's eagle/saber-toothed tiger gryphons, soggy sandgrouse/sand cat gryphons, and a lot more. My series are epic fantasy using mostly real (though sometimes extinct) animals, free of humans but full of queer characters, intrigue, large battles, and ecological apocalypses. My cover art is by Jeff Brown, with interior graphite pieces by Brenda Lyons and gryphon chapter headers by Kittrel (whose chibi hearts you may have seen). I also have a short story collection (best read anytime after Starling, book three) with a beak-cute lesbian gryphon love story with terror birds, a Gryphon vs. Nature blizzard apocalypse tale, a Christmas-y story, and something pretty close to zombies. I've also written a full novel set in the world of Dire by John Bailey called Coldbright which can be found in the Tales of Feathers & Flames anthology. If you like GryphIns but you want something with more mystery, almost horror, as told through the eyes of a snarky little opinicus and his dire gryphon ex-boyfriend, it's a great read this time of year. I love and appreciate all the fan mail, fan fiction, fan letters, and people reaching out about this series. I'm a little slow replying, as I started writing the series right after getting diagnosed with a catastrophic autoimmune system. The treatments are pretty intense, and it's easiest for me to spend my time and energy writing. I used to have a few pen names across several genres, but for the most part, all of my energy goes into finishing up GryphIns. I'm married to dragon author Glenn Birmingham, so if you've seen us posting pictures of our cats and thought it's strange they share a name, they're the same cats. And that's about it. Just a queer author writing gryphony books when I'm not walking my cat. A few common answers to questions: Q: There are sometimes typos in social media, why is that? A: Catastrophic APS means I've had a stroke (and associated memory loss), so when a copy editor isn't coming up behind me, there'll be doubled words and typos from time-to-time. I used to worry about them, since they don't look good if you're an author! But I'd rather reply to fan letters and kind posts. I think if you've read my author notes at the back of my books, you know to expect a few doubled words here and there. Q: When you say a queer author, what do you mean? A: Since people ask about own voices and I have a lot of lgbtqia+ characters in my books, I'm pan, demi, trans, and genderfluid. I'm lucky enough to have a lot of queer friends and first readers who make sure I don't mess up any characters. Q: When's the next GryphIns novel coming out? A: Some years, I spend a lot of my time fighting health insurance battles, and it slows me down. Pridelord (#8) is currently in line edits. It's twice as long as Eyrie and three times as long as Coldbright, so it's a pretty big book! It shouldn't be too much longer. You'll know it's just about time because you'll hear James Scott Spaid talk about narrating the audiobook. Q: How many books will there be in GryphIns? A: I'm famous for underestimating how many books it takes to finish a series. My other pen names all wrote short stories and standalone novels, so my proposal for GryphIns originally had five books. Jeff Brown is wrapping up the cover for Saberbeak (#9) and Nighthaunt (#10). If I end up needing one more book to finish, though, don't be too surprised.

[lumenflowered]

[A video is attached. Archer's final Pokémon, a Houndoom, goes down, and Archer himself looks... very pale.

"Ah," Archer says, then glances at the communicator upon his wrist. "Wait, the boss is fighting you... but that's not... Petrel? What are you—"

In a burst of scarlet fog, Maria's no longer on the other side of the battlefield behind her Arcanine but right next to Archer, and a deft motion results in the communicator now being in her hands.

"Take another guess," says Maria. "Petrel does send his regards, but he isn't the only one who can mimic others."

"...That other girl," Archer says. "The one from Cinnabar, the one we thought—we thought she was you in an awful disguise!"

"She is not," Maria replies. "Stand aside."

"Or you'll what? Kill me?"

"Worse," says Mallory, taking a flying leap to alight beside Maria on the cave floor. Her eyes gleam, and he crumples to the ground.

"...What did you do," Maria says.

"I'm not sure," Mallory says. "But he's asleep. Not dead. Probably. Also, he might have nightmares for the rest of his life, but let's be honest, he deserves them."

(Behind the camera, Ade chimes in with a helpful mutter, only understandable to the Pokémon in the room, of "That looked like a Hypnosis to me!")

"You, fuck off," Mallory growls.

Ade cackles, and does no such thing.

Though the video does end there.]

[marebearsblog]

A beautiful couple, with rings on their hands, and gold on their shoes. They possessed an extraordinary amount of wealth, and as the couple were, they spent it oh so carelessly. On one of their dates, the woman with her puffy dress and heavy jewelry, told her partner she wanted to see the beach. With a sharp he asked which one.

“By the bay?” He murmured. With glowing eyes she replied, “No, I want the ocean, to the coast of the hot springs”. She was confident in her wants, and so was she in his diction. With a wistful but not condescending timing, he muttered “yes of course”

Hot is the summer sun, though her heart stays cold, a heart murmur is heard from her loved, but she says the sound is just some name. The trees sway as the hills slope and slip into the fields of grass, the farmer becoming little specks.

“I love you” he says.

She stares at the bay. Unable to speak, fathom, she holds his heart in her palm, creased with dust and sand on the veins. She ponders to the ocean with an artistic brush, as the waves paint the shore, she looks no more.

“Why do you not answer?” He asks, the petrels coo above, sounding a melody, filled with disgust.

“I do not love you the way you think” she whispered agian. His heart pumps in her palm, the veins pop, like the roots of a stump.

Although the woman cannot express, she loves the older man, but stooping low in her chest she wants to escape into the waters, the glowing shine is expendable to amber light. Far into the west of North Coralina, the sun sets into orange flames, with yellow clouds and skies running along. Her liking to his heart dims, but even the dunes slope next to the shore, so she holds his hand with a tightened grip. Wrapping her skirt into her other, slipping her heels into the sand, let’s go of his hand.

Running forth into abyss, down into the water of the Rehoboth, the salty gusts pulling her back, but not even Mother Nature can be cut slack. Her finger tips down to her toes dive into the water, her grey highlights stripping gold, she runs away from her omen, drowning in her demise.

Listen close young one

Although the waters were blue

No sadness existed in these dunes

And her heart thumped no more

Even though her lovers heart was torn

He knew the red string has snapped long ago

A tune rang to and from the waters alone

A thrill and trill of a song

The siren, returned home

[dulledtalons]

Birds in Sekai - 7

Card 220, Someday, I'll Deliver

These birds are:

Snow petrels(?), Pagodroma nivea, family Procellariidae, order Procellariiformes. They are normally found along the South Pole. (I'm not sure if this is right as the wing shape of the birds depicted are quite different from petrels, but I couldn't find other birds with all-white plumage and black beaks.)

Edit: I skimmed through some of the side story for this card, and the birds are described as “doves”… but as far as I’m aware, there are no doves that naturally have this sort of colouration.

Below is a photo of a snow petrel for comparison.

If anyone has a better answer for what birds these are, I'd love to hear it in a reply or an ask!

[greypetrel]

Hug time! Pass this around and hug whoever you think is an amazing mutual 🫂💜

Aaaaaaah Mer, thank you!! ;_; Likewise!!

[autisticassassinbird]

Anyone is free to use any of these ideas in a fanfic. Feel free to suggest things in the reblogs or replies.

Daemon forms in an Alan Wake daemon AU:

Alan Wake - northern hawk owl

Alice Wake - eastern coyote

Barry Wheeler - american ermine

Saga Anderson - elk

Alex Casey - eastern milk snake or corn snake

Ilmo Koskela - moose

Jaako Koskela - boreal caribou

Tim Breaker - northern alligator lizard

Sarah Breaker - striped whipsnake

Robert Nightingale - horned lark or chestnut backed chickadee

Cynthia Weaver - yellow pine chipmunk

Odin Anderson - common raven

Tor Anderson - gray wolf

Rose Marigold - rattlesnake or rubber boa

Ahti - leach's storm petrel or ancient murrlet

Thomas Zane - eurasian eagle owl

Barbara Jagger - wolverine

Mulligan - pronghorn

Thornton - ord's kangaroo rat

[exec-proton]

[ And when you go, don't return to me, My Love ]

Proton stood in the doorway.

Nikita's head hung limply over his chest. Dry blood was caked into his hair and his clothes, flaking from his skin. Angry blisters were erupting under the ropes that held him to the chair.

Proton did not pity this man.

But Petrel did.

The uncaring face he put on was his worst disguise, and Proton could see right through it. He cursed under his breath and, not for the first time, wondered how a man like Petrel had come into such an organization. How he had come into contact with people like him, who made it a game when they killed.

“You're too good,” he muttered, and stepped inside.

Nikita was awake. Proton could tell from the set of his shoulders, the way that he breathed. He was awake, and he hated him. Proton couldn't bring himself to be upset. He would, too.

“I'm going to make a deal with you,” he started. He was cautious, slinking around the edge of the room. He was not afraid. Nikita couldn't hurt him, not like this. But he was cautious.

Nikita didn't respond, but his breathing eased ever so slightly. He was listening.

Proton continued. “I will keep you alive. I will keep you alive, and let you go free. You,” he said, and paused for emphasis, “will join Rocket.“

“I'll fucking kill you,” Nikita murmured. His voice was hoarse and thick with accent, but Proton could understand him well enough.

“No, you won't,” Proton replied. “And I'll make sure of that.“

Nikita laughed quietly. It was more a wheeze than anything else. Proton furrowed his brow.

“I don't want to kill you, Nikita. You mean too much to him.“

That caught his attention. “… Petya-?“

“Executive. Petrel,” Proton hissed.

“I mean more to him than y-”

And Proton was grabbing his throat. He leaned in. Their noses brushed against each other, and Proton could see the fear finally enter his eyes. 

“You are nothing. That is why I'm keeping you alive.“

A quick slash, and Nikita toppled forwards, out of the chair. He stared down at his shaking hands. Proton took one into his own gently, lifting it to his lips.

“You are nothing.“

[chounaifu]

@tumblestones replied:

petrel vc; sounds like something someone who's ashamed of their dyed hair would say

"Yeah y'know what, you're so right. You are SO right my dude. All these things I'm not ashamed of, y'know, stabbing people behind 7-Eleven and then throwing the body in the recycling bin. Traumatizing people because I think it's funny. Blackmailing the president of Unova. I'm not ashamed of any of that but, yeah, my deepest darkest secret, dyeing my hair teal."

He's saying all this while hovering only two centimeters away from Petrel.

[missingstarter]

ƸӜƷ " Who's your best friend? "

[ childhood memories ; ACCEPTING ]

A tilt of his head.

Maybe he should say the weird kid in the woods? It's the only person his age he knows, after all, but they're barely considered friends to begin with, if you ask him. Perhaps, he should go with his father's Persian? Mister Archer's Houndooms? Or, maybe, answer one of the Executives? He cares plenty about all of them, after all... but they're his mentors, his guardians whenever Giovanni wasn't around. Considering them friends, even the most open and playful ones like Petrel or Proton, would be... disrespectful, right?

"...I don't have any." he eventually replied, shrugging a bit as he looked down. This didn't make him sad, exactly, but... it does leave a weird taste in his mouth.

"It's not like friends are that important, anyway."